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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Homemade Chicken Soup

There is a chill in the air and I had the urge to make my first pot of chicken soup for the year(for some reason my year runs from my birthday in August (23) until the following August, I think it is a school year thing!!) Anyway, every year I make about 2 or 3 pots of Chicken Soup. I separate out portions and freeze them as chicken soup, stock and chicken and dumpling starter(I add corn and peas to the soup before freezing). Then throughout the season, I pull out what I need and voila, relatively instant yumminess!HOMEMADE CHICKEN SOUP

1 roasting chicken( and extra backs for more flavor, optional)bunch of parsleyhandful of carrotscelery stalks(the inner leaves are very good for a flavorful stock)onionsturnips(optional)peppercornssea saltpotatoes

Clean chicken with lemon juice or vinegar, rinse off well(don't forget to take the giblets out of the chest cavity!). Place chicken in largest stock pot available. Add celery stalks, carrots, onions, turnips and part of parsley. I generally put a few veggies under the chicken and then spread the rest around and on top. Add part of the parsley early for flavor and then add fresh at the end for color. Add some sea salt and a handful of peppercorns. Add water to cover (in my stock pot it's about 4 l.(16 c.)) Turn heat on high and bring pot to a boil. Skim off foam(you'll know it when you see it and your broth won't be clear if you skip this step). Reduce heat and let simmer until chicken is cooked through(the meat will generally fall off the bone easily).Add potatoes about 30 minutes before finished(usually about an hour and a half in) Separate the cooked chicken and vegetables in bowls and strain the broth. Chop and add the rest of the parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Take chicken off the bone and chop up vegetables. Put back in broth. Serve with rice or noodles. Enjoy!